Kingkirbey‌:

Ben was thankful for BYOB. He finally got to bring himself some microbrew. None of these people ever experienced how amazing beer was like he had. He donned a white suit. To the outside world, he felt as if most of them knew him as little pure Benjamin Vanderbilt. Or at least they did. He used his bottle opener to open his beer up and took the cap into his free hand. “By the end of the night, I think that I’m going to need to carry around a garbage bag for all of these,” He said as he showed his bottle cap to the other person. “Time is also just a social construct, but that’s another lecture for another day. It’s probably hard for Americans to grasp that.”

kirbcy‌:

Bishop was supposed to be nice, but the feeling of even being a little tongue in cheek had long since left his demeanor. Something about Ben, standing there, pretending to even give a little of a shit fundamentally irritated the shit out of him. “Then why are you talking to me? Because here’s the way I see it, Vanderbilt. You’re attempting to do whatever this is in attempt to smooth over the fact that you married my sister without so much as a thought to her brother who may want to fucking attend. Further, I doubt you even pushed her to talk to me, or say anything, or come the fuck home. No. You don’t get to slither into my life pretending to be a friend when you’d rather remind everyone how much you’d rather be in Europe or some bullshit. Go back then. Or at least save me the act.”

“I’m not talking to you out of guilt, trust me,” Honestly, he didn’t feel bad about not pushing King to come home. Not when he didn’t want to come home in the first place. Was New York even considered home anymore? “If it makes you feel better, no one is invited,” It was a spur of the moment thing. Ben wouldn’t have wanted a wedding with family members in attendance anyway, he liked the spontaneity. “I get it, you’re pissed at her, but she really does love you,” He reminded Bishop, “I’m talking to you because you look like you could use some company, Bishop. This party’s supposed to be fun,” This was ironic considering Ben was usually the one who was being miserable. “Oh we’ll be going back, I just have to take care of a few things first. It’s nice over there since we don’t have people at our throats all the time.” If Bishop wanted to push him away, he was going to go along with it. At least he could tell King he tried.

text @ everyone (wren's entire contact list)

Wren: It's my Christmas card. I made it online.

Ben: Christmas is celebrated so differently in Europe.

Ben: we should try to give it a shot over here.

taterodriguez‌:

“Actually, I haven’t.”  Tate admitted and gave a shake of their head as a chuckle passed through their lips.  They heard stories about SantaCon, but could never bring their self to attend knowing full well that there was more excitement in the Upper East Side.  “I think people were just surprised to see you’ve finally made a reappearance,” Tate said casually.  “Honestly, I never thought I’d see you again when you disappeared.  –  Kind of makes me wonder what was so important that made you come home,” Tate gave a shrug of their shoulders and they figured it was safe to assume it had something to do with Quinn.  “You’ll have to call in advance, but I’ll do my best.”

The only reason Tate remembered who Ben was, was due to the turmoil it caused Quinn.  It was hard for Tate to bother remembering people that clearly wanted nothing to do with the Upper East Side.  “Bishop’s sister, right.  The disappearing Kirbey.”  Tate didn’t have a face to the name but vaguely remembered another Kirbey being around.  “Shots sound great, it’s the only thing that is going to get me through this night.”

He really had just disappeared. It wasn’t like he was planning on leaving, it just all happened so fast. “It’s fun but I’m not sure it beats Oktoberfest,” He pointed out. Nothing could beat being in Munich during Oktoberfest.“Honestly, same here. But you know what they say. You always find your way back home.” He was only here to finally let go of the guilt he had been carrying around. 

“Yes, both I and the disappearing Kirbey have returned,” Ben confirmed. He wondered why they needed shots to get through the night but knew it was none of his business. If only he didn’t leave, he probably would’ve known Tate pretty well because of Quinn. “Vodka keeps me humble,” He hated the taste but would down it anyways. “And I don’t trust people who like raspberry flavored vodka. That shit tastes like medicine.”

quinnxarchibald‌:

Unable to stifle a yawn, Quinn covered his mouth with his hand before making eye contact with a person across from him. “I dunno how I’m going to make it to midnight at this rate.” He admitted with a small laugh. He’d hit a wall half an hour ago and suddenly time felt like it was stretching around him. All he wanted, at the moment, was to go back home and crawl into bed.

Ben wasn’t quite sure if Quinn was talking to him or not. Things were still unresolved with him, even after they spoke at the party. Once again, he would act as if nothing happened between the pair. “If you need to, go home. I’m sure Arlo would understand.” He responded. "Or maybe you just haven’t had enough to drink.”

seboriley‌:

Sebastian stares… and stares… and stares some more. Finally, he works up enough energy to blink his eyes—more a harsh squint, like he’s trying to recalibrate—and maintain a pained expression on his face. “Okay,” he says finally, raising his palms as if to seize the moment with the gesture. “It is way too early in the night for you to start getting philosophical—wait… What does being American have to do with understanding time? Is it because we don’t have Big Ben staring us in the face like they do in Europe? ‘Cause we’ve got a big Ben of our own.” With that, he delivers two swift, feather-light jabs to Ben’s gut, grinning and chuckling to himself before reconnecting some… now awkward eye contact. “You want some tequila shots?”

Was he getting theoretical already? Someone should tell Ben that he wasn’t Aristotle. “Fuck, stop me. Don’t let me start telling you shit until I’m a few bottles in.” He was dead serious, Ben only wanted to be a philosopher when he was wasted. He then stared at Sebastian, wishing that he had made a different pun. No one joked about the Big Ben like that in England. “I’m a lot younger than that tower.” He had a dry sense of humor for the most part, and really only laughed at the expense of others. "Do you have any limes? I’m not sure my mouth can handle tequila without it.” Say what you want but that shit hurt.  

quinnxarchibald‌:

@benvanderbilt

While the night had started out quite poorly, Quinn couldn’t help but feel that things were looking up. He felt like he could rule the world, like he could do anything. Rationally, he knew that was the coke running though his veins but it didn’t stop him from still feeling invincible. Meandering through the halls, not caring who saw his bruised face, Quinn explored. He wasn’t sure why he’d been so worried before about everything. It seemed so small, so insignificant. Quinn could take on anything, including Ben. 

As he thought this, Quinn stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening before he turned on his heels and made his way back through the apartment. After a few minutes he found who he was looking for. Ben. Not caring about who the other male was talking to, Quinn grabbed the brunet’s arm and pulled him aside. “We need to talk.” He demanded.

Ben’s attention moved towards Quinn as he pulled Ben away. Fuck, he hoped he wasn’t going to hit him again. He didn’t want to fight him again. The last thing Ben wanted to do was hurt Quinn even more. He looked up at the other man, studying everything about his demeanor. 

Why did that need to talk? He had nothing to say to Quinn. He had nothing he could actually say to Quinn. “Do you really think that’s a good idea to do here?” He asked, wanting to delay their conversation to another day.

finnsmythe‌:

“I don’t doubt that. You seem pretty scrappy to me,” he grinned a little. At the suggestion of a shotgun competition, Finn laughed. “Oh my god, yes! I used to do that all the time with the guys! And I did that in college before I dropped out. You’re on. If this fucking blizzard wasn’t happening, and we’d be able to get a case of beer, we’d definitely do that!” Finn was competitive as hell, and he would do all he could to win that challenge. “Yeah, we’re a thing,” he nodded. “I’ll ask O about it. See if she’d be down.”

He wasn’t scrappy. Only he was allowed to call himself that. Or King. That was about it. “I gotta compensate for the height somehow,” He wasn’t ignorant, he knew he was pretty small. “There should always be a case of beer around or a keg. I really need to show Chessie and O how Europeans party,” He thought he was better than everyone because he spent so much time abroad. It was pretty pathetic. “Maybe we could do a bar crawl.” He considered that pretty romantic. See, romance isn’t dead. 

kingkirbey‌:

“You look very handsome. I’d even call you ravishing.” She was always teasing him, it was their natural state of being, but there was sincerity in her tone as well. He was exactly her type and she liked to make sure he knew it. Ben was, in King’s eyes, the perfect man for her. At the mention of a burger, King’s head popped up. “I need Shake Shack. God, why did we come here when we could’ve been getting burgers this whole time.” She was only half kidding, food was serious business in King’s mind. “I doubt anyone’s partying down there but I’m willing to bet it’s way too crowded. But maybe there’s a Shake Shack nearby and we can sneak out in a little? I’d maybe even settle for Five Guys.”

He felt his cheeks turn a bit red when she complimented him. “Ravishing? You sure know the way to get into my pants.” He chuckled, letting a smile appear on his face. Showing any happy expression felt abnormal around here. It wasn’t like he loved being around these people, but King, King was different. He actually wanted to be around her. “That sounds pretty great, actually,” Having some solids will help him sober up too. Not to mention that he was a simple man now. Basic things made him happy, like burgers. “We should get out of here soon” He agreed, "But we’re going to a Shake Shack. It’s decided.” He insisted, “I have to break the seal really bad.” He said as he looked around for a bathroom. “After that, let me just finish this beer too,” He didn’t want to waste any beer “And then we can try to look for a quiet Shake Shack.” Little did he know that that was not how his night was going to go at all.